Beer: Reviews & Ratings

A- Pours a very hazy, medium brown with orange hints in the body. Small, yet very strong and lasting, off-white colored head. Lacing is awesome, especially considering the age of this beer.

S- Strong and bitter, but not so much in the hops bitterness genre on the nose. Starts with strong brown sugar and molasses sweetness that quickly mixes in with a strong, malty bitterness. Tons of caramel malt scents provide the base and strong alcohol presence is also a primary flavor in the smell.

T- Starts off with a big display of the caramel malts and just a touch of the brown sugar sweetness. A small amount of hops bitterness joins forces with the stronger malt and alcohol bitterness to really pack a punch in the middle of the drink. Sweetness mixes back in to mellow out some of the bitterness before the drink ends.

M- This beer is on the thicker and smoother end with lower carbonation. The alcohol and moderately strong bitterness cuts down on the drinkability, but the alcohol is fairly well hidden.

Overall, I'm really impressed with how well this has held up for 4+ years. I think these Old Guardians are really underrated, but they do take a little development in the bottle to take on a certain level of complexity. (1,230 characters)

had the pleasure of tasting this vintage keg at the stone outpost in pasadena. poured into a short stem glass, the ale has a hazy amber tone, with a thin, off white head. smell was less intense than i would have expected; there is a subtle smoked quality accompanying the malt-driven nose, perhaps some toffee as well. taste is excellent; loads of rich caramel and dried fruit flavors lead into a bitter, yet balanced finish. alcohol is present, but not overpowering. this four year old beast held up nicely. (508 characters)

Poured from 22 oz bomber into large snifter glass. Very clear, deep amber color with great ruby hues. Still has a lot of carbonation for a 2009. Some bubbles are seen rising up slowly. Very less, thin layered head from the first half pour. Tan colored and does not stay. Excellent stickiness shown by the side laces with each sip.

Aroma is huge. Smells a lot like old ale. Some very obvious malt-hop presence upfront. A little bit boozy as well. Smells fills the nose from a feet away once you open the bottle. Hops shine along with a lot of malt but do not have a distinct presence of their own.

Taste is all malt and boozy. This one is heck of drink, Alcohol has not mellowed down much i would suppose or it would have been hell boozy when fresh. Bitterness is still there. In fact a lot of it. A little bit of toffee flavor and a lot of caramel flavor dominate the taste. An excellent blend of malts and hops is what barley wines are all about. I like it very much. Finish is bitter to very bitter.

Mouth feel is medium to slightly full. A lot of oily and resiny touch. A very good warmth when drinking this. A lot of booze and might appear astringent to some.

2009 vintage poured from a 22oz bottle. It poured a murky orange color with a thin white head barely covering the top of the beer.

The aroma shows a lot of malty flavors to it with some caramel and toffee notes coming through. It's still got a good amount of residual hoppiness left to it as well with some resiny, citrusy, grapefruit like flavors.

The taste shows more of the resiny, bitter, grapefruit flavors to it. The malty sweetness mixes well with it and helps balance it out some. The finish shows a dry, bitter hoppiness to it that lingers.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied for the style with carbonation being moderate. Overall it's a pretty good beer but the bitter, resiny hoppiness is a little overpowering for my tastes in the style. A little more rich, malty, caramel flavors would have gone a long way for me. Still a very enjoyable beer I find myself buying annually. (887 characters)

Aged a few years. Bought a Martha's Vineyard in Grand Rapids for $3.99 a bomber!!!

This one pours a deep bllod orange red that looks unreal. A little head boils up for a second and retreats quickly. Smells like apricot, plum, caramel, leather, and a wee bit of alcohol. Really sweet and inviting! Can't wait to try this one. WOW, this is one of the best barleywines I have tried-aged. The hops are still there, but have faded perfectly from a fresh one. Still bitter on the finish, but not so abrasive. Really sweet with a carmel, earthy flavor that really shines-so smooth for such a heavy beer. Getting a cherry, peach fruit punch, but it's hard to tell there is so much going on here. Mouthfeel is thick with low carbonation. What a fine beer!-sucks it took this long to get this:) Drank the 10' side by side and it's night and day how much better this is. (860 characters)

Pours crystal clear deep copper/orange with very little off-white head that thins out instantly...small co2 bubbles rising slowly in the glass. Seems pretty standard for the style.

Smell is grainy, nectarine and dried apricot frutiness, caramel, leather, damp earth. Very little alcohol noticeable. Slight oxidation (expected with the age of this bottle). Overall the nose on this is great!

Slightly fruity, caramel sweetness, subtle amounts of cedar and tobacco. Finish is a lingering, sharp, piny hop bitterness that dominates. Alcohol is present but does not warm too much. Some nice components here but the bitterness is overpowering.

The mouthfeel is heavy and viscous. Avg. carbonation leaves this feeling a little too syrupy.

I think a little less bitterness may have allowed the flavor complexity to come through better and the body was a little too heavy for me. However, I do think the age did this bottle some good and generally enjoyed the beer. (1,006 characters)

22oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Released as part of the 2011 Cleveland Beer Week.A: Orangish red color, thin head that quickly dissipates.S: All sorts of fruit: stone fruit, citrus, dried fruit; caramel & toffee rounds it out.T: Caramel, toffee, orange peel. Straightforward but intense.M: A bit thick and the alcohol does come through, but typical of the style.O: Another solid offering from Stone. Drink this one slowly. (433 characters)

A: Surprised to see a decent bit of carbonation for a 2009 vintage. Poured a murky orange/rusted red color with a thin slightly off-white head. Color somewhat matches the color of the graphics of the bottle. Alcohol legs everywhere.

T: A wee trace of oxidation. Still get a lot of the nose, but muted. Rum-soaked raisins, caramel, burnt brown sugar. Cotton candy sweetness. The booziness is not nearly as apparent in the taste as in the aroma. Palate finishes slightly bitter, with a bit of the oxidation...but not terrible.

O: The alcohol here has dissipated gracefully and left a solid beer behind. Still get a good bit of carbonation...along with some oxidation. The nose is slightly misleading - better than the taste, but overall, a well blended Barleywine. Not the most prefectly aged example, but a good 2 year old Barleywine. I would trade for this again. (1,308 characters)

Medium amber color, looks very thick, cloudy, and hazier I would have imagined. Nice cloudy cream colored head just a couple millimeters tall, stays pretty strong too. Very full thick lacing begins as the head falls. Half way down the glass the lace is still staying fairly strong.

Smells very fragrant, notes of honey, lemon, mild hints of some sweetness behind the wonderfully floral-esque hop character. Also possibly some darker fruits like cherries.

The taste starts off fairly sweet and fruity with an early onset of hop bitterness, washes over the palate with smooth texture and finishes long and bitter, very quickly warming without over powering.

With age I'd imagine this beer will become amazing as the hop bitterness subsides slightly and allows the fruit complexity to shine through. I have another bottle in the cellar that I will revisit down the road. Wonderful barley wine style ale. (937 characters)

Straight pour from 22oz pry-off bomber bottle to a Duvel apèro tulip; no bottling date evident, though I suppose it’s not overly necessary.

Appearance (4.5): Beautiful light tan, almost custard-colored head, starting at a full three fingers and fading to a one-finger cap; moderate lacing. Body is a deep, glowing reddish amber, and quite hazy.

Smell (3.5): Caramel and booze, with rich, sweet malts dominating here. Bit of a candy scent, like those little Valentine’s Day hearts.

Taste (3.5): Following the nose, starts off with caramel and moves toward a deeper, kind of roasty, husky malt feel, like the barley was only half de-husked before it was malted. If that’s a thing. Bit of a boozy dry red wine finish, with just a hint of grassy-herbal hops coming in at the very end. Think I’m getting the flavor of distinctly British Isles (Scottish?) yeast happening here, which I like! All in all it’s decently balanced. Could use more bombast, but I appreciate the low-key balance here. Smooth.

Mouthfeel (4.0): Thick but not syrupy, a little oily, very little carbonation left in spite of the head. That’s okay, it’s aged two and a half years, shouldn’t expect a ton of carb. Still, has an effervescent feel going down, so mark it up a notch.

Overall (3.5): This is nice. I think I want to try this beer fresh, though. Definite sipper, but that’s okay. I like sippers, especially as it cools down. This beer is good, but it’s not blowing me away. Not the rich beauty I was expecting from Stone. Definitely enjoying it, but I’ll opt for it fresh next time. (1,590 characters)

S: The nose is rich, malty and thick. The caramel and toffee malts go to the extreme, syrupy in consistency. Lots of hops here, though, balancing and then some with an oily citrusy grapefruit finish.

T: Thick and oily, the fullness of the malts wants to clog up my throat; the only thing saving my life is the oiliness of the hops. Hell, the beer is like cheating death. The hops are still hot, burning in each sip. Sweet caramel follows immediately after the hops, filling the void when the bite drops off. Bold richness permeates.

M: The mouthfeel, in all its syrupy glory, is wickedly thick. I think I like this one, the freshest, best of all. (883 characters)

Enjoyed on 6/10/2011 in a Stone Old Guardian glass.This beer certainly isn't fresh, but it's held up wonderfully.The top part of my bomber poured a bit hazy, but had a nice orange hue and a darker reddish cast through the middle of the glass. A modest cap of fine, whitish bubbles lingered for quite a while and formed a bit of transient, spotty lacing. Tons of caramel and toasted malts in the aroma, some cereal grains as well. The hops have mellowed, but there are still notes of earthy, citrusy hops mingling with the alcohol. Bitterness was still powerful, softer up front while the caramel was present, but sharper in the finish. Cereal husks and toasted malts, mild citrusy and fruity flavours, plus alcohol flavour and warmth in the finish rounded things out. Really nice texture at this point in its maturation. Full bodied with lowish carbonation, just enough to keep it lively, that was integrated nicely with the malty mouthfeel. I'm glad I have more in the cellar and look forward to how they'll continue to change. (1,030 characters)

Rainy Saturday with nothing much to do but watch a couple movies.... And drink some beer from the cellar. Poured out a ruby mahogany with only some spotting of lacing on the top. The nose has a tingle of booze but is mainly a lot of darker fruits like raisins and dates with some caramel notes. A citrus hop character is blended well with the boozy smell. The body is very smooth and full. Some sweetness right upfront with the a bold middle. A lot of malty sweetness and the dark fruit notes from the nose. Finishes with a solid amount of fruity hops and a dry bitterness. (574 characters)

Consistently one of the better bomber values out there, this one hasn't disappointed yet. Poured a clear, dark, reddish-brown color with a little tan head on top. On the nose, aromas of earthy hops, dark fruits and caramel. On the palate, this one was medium bodied, with flavors of earthy hops, caramel and booze. (314 characters)

Where does this beer start? Vague flavors immediately give way to a punch of pine hops and phenolic, medicinal flavors. Leads into spicy flavors. As it warms, more flavors try to poke their heads out. Carmel and raisin bread with candied orange appear, but those flavors are quickly beaten into submission by the hops. The finish is extremely bitter and has a giant alcohol punch, almost burning.

I can't believe this beer has 2 years of age on it. Very abrasive, and I feel abused. Wish I would have split this bottle with someone; it was a little too much for me by the end. Needs about 5 more years on it. (978 characters)

-orange, auburn, caramel color with a thin white head. thick looking with some sedi up in there

-still has a pretty hoppy nose. solid caramel in there, with maybe some grapefruit and a little nose sting

-wow, still really hoppy. seems the hop flavor died a bit, but there is still a big hop bitterness in the middle that runs through the aftertaste. some definite grapefruit characteristics, while the caramel is in the background

-strong body, but not as thick as it appears. the lingering bitterness on the tongue is crazy

-this is one of the beers in which someone wonders the difference between an american barleywine and a DIPA. this is one hoppy bitch at 2 years old still. needs at least 2 more years for those malty flavors to come out (747 characters)

Pours a burnt orange with a two finger pillow of cream-colored head. Virtually no lacing as I drink.

One whiff and I'm thinking this must be a barley wine or DIPA. There are huge pine and juniper notes with only the slightest hint of a malt backbone. As it warms, there's a bit more grapefruit coming to the party. As it opens up even more, there's definitely a bit more caramel on the nose.

Interesting first sip. My palate either has something going on with it or this beer has some unique hops. I get sort of a weird bitter maple up front, then a sweet honey, then a long long lingering bitterness that stings the side of the tongue. This bitter finish is incredibly citrusy with lemon and grapefruit all over the place. It's such a weird finish that it's almost a hint of sour. This is sort of a weird finish, but I like it

Pretty thin for the aroma and taste. Definitely doesn't have the body for a barleywine, but I'm definitely digging it as a IIPA. Perfect carbonation and insanely smooth. I can tell there's some heat there, but the wildness has been tamed by the brewer.

Overall, it's going down sickeningly well at cellar temp. Part of it is its complexity driving me to sip and sip, but part of it is that it's just plain good. I don't think I'd go out of my way for this beer, but if it's around, I'd probably try it again.

Still a bit confused on the style. If I had to pick something, I'd say imperial amber. It's got some malt, but not enough to be a barleywine, so it must be a DIPA. As to which one, I'm clueless.